Welcome Home
by Vampyrlvr
Summary: When Sookie runs into trouble with love yet again, it is a certain shifter who catches her fall.CHAPTER 1 EDITED!


Welcome Home

Author: VampyrGrl

Rating: M

Pairing: Sookie/Sam (I just want to toss Sam a bone. He's so great and there just aren't enough stories for this pairing)

Warnings: SEX! You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with the Southern Vampire Mysteries, nor am I making any money from this venture.

Note: People have requested that this be more than a one-shot, so I edited this chapter (I'm happier with it now) and I may continue, time and continued interest (on my part and the readers) allowing. Please remember to review and tell me what you think!!!

Welcome Home:

I jumped into my car and peeled out of my driveway, not knowing where exactly I planned to go. Tears were streaming down my face as I drove, just trying to get as far away from my life and the people in it as I could. First Bill, then Quinn, now Eric…a girl just can't win in the game of love. Eric's possessiveness was getting out of control, and vampire politics had always been too much for me. Now with the takeover, things were a total mess and I wanted out of that game forever. I told Eric what I wanted, what I needed. I could tell he was struggling with giving me what I wanted and giving others what they wanted to keep himself alive.

It wasn't possible.

So I left.

And he didn't stop me.

My headlights lit up the blurred world. The vague landscape, as seen through tears, was familiar, but I wasn't giving it any thought. What does it take to get a guy to love you? To want you for who you are? To not want to change you? To want you and no one else? To put you first?

Finally, with the sound of gravel crunching under my wheels, I felt the need to run fade away, replaced with the need to just cry and be held. I put the car in park, turned everything off, then crossed my arms on the steering wheel, resting my head on those arms and let my body be taken over by the sobs that were working their way through me.

Suddenly, the door beside me flew open.

"Sookie! Oh my God, Sookie! What's wrong?!" Sam's frantic voice called. "Come here," he said gently, reaching into the car and holding me as close as he could. "What's wrong, Sook?" he asked gently, once he was certain I wasn't hurt.

"Eric!" I wailed. I knew that was all I would need to say. I couldn't see his face with my own face buried in his chest, but I knew what look he had on his face. The "I told you he'd hurt you, but I won't remind you, damn I wanna go kick his ass, but you need me here, so I better just shut down my emotions so you don't kick MY ass for thinking this" look. I was touched. I felt him try to pull away from me, to which my response was to hold on tighter. Sam finally managed to get far enough away from me to undo my seatbelt, then he lifted me from the car and carried me into his trailer. Once inside he carried me straight over to the couch and just fell backwards onto it, never letting me go.

"Shh, _chere_, it'll be alright, I promise," Sam gently cooed, rocking me slightly.

"Oh, Sam!" I gasped, sobbing harder as I started to violently shake. Sam's arms tightened around me and he tucked my head down under his chin, completely surrounding me in his presence. Finally, my tears subsided and I was able to bring myself to pull away from the comfort of his arms.

"There now, _chere_, you're OK. Here," Sam offered a Kleenex he grabbed off of the end table. I took it gratefully and blew my nose and dabbed at my eyes. Once I was cleaned up it registered that I was curled up in Sam's lap. I blushed and shifted so I was beside him, leaning heavily into his side.

"Here, hold on," Sam grunted, gently pushing me to the side so he could hop up. He crossed the room and started messing around in the kitchen. Once he had something going in the microwave he walked back into another room, this one with a door that I assumed was his bedroom, and emerged moments later with a blanket. He wrapped this around my shoulders right before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. He then went back into the kitchen and started fiddling around again. Sam returned a few seconds later, a steaming cup of tea in one hand, a pint of cookie dough ice cream and a spoon in the other. I couldn't help but chuckle at the offerings.

"When you work with as many women as I do, you have to have boyfriend-issue survival packs handy. If you'd rather a different flavor of ice cream, I have a few other flavors," Sam offered with a tentative, teasing smile. I made an effort to give him the warmest smile I could.

"You are such a good guy, Sam. Remind me again why you're single?" I asked in as light a tone as I could muster under the circumstances.

"Because before the vamps came out of the coffin, all the girls wanted a bad boy. Now that the vamps are out, all the girls want a bad boy or a good guy vamp. I just can't win. Maybe if we come out of the closet I'll become the cool thing to date!" That made me laugh, for which I was grateful. I started picking at my ice cream, happy for the sugar that was making my headache go away, and happy for the tea to warm me up.

"Would you like to watch a movie? I have chick flicks," Sam asked, waggling his eyebrows with the offer of "chick flicks."

"What have you got?"

"Well, I have Love Actually, Benny and Joon, pirated copy of Love Happens, You've Got Mail…" He listed several others, trying his hardest to make the titles sound manly and like every man in the world owns them, so why not him. He suddenly paused and gave me an appraising look.

"I have Van Hellsing, Blade, and the Buffy series…"

"Buffy sounds good," I said with some relief. I could hear the "Thank God" in Sam's silence as he popped the movie in and thought about what he got out of watching. He really was good to his waitresses to have such a stock of aids for getting over bad boyfriends. It also said something about his relationships and what women thought of him that this happened often enough that he had stocked up for such occasions. I suddenly felt very sad as I thought about how lonely he must be, listening to the woes of someone else's relationship while he himself did not have anyone.

Sam got the video started and then joined me on the couch. We rearranged ourselves until Sam had an arm wrapped around me and his feet propped on the coffee table while I nestled into his side with my legs tucked under me on the couch and my ice cream close to my chest. I finished my ice cream by the end of the first episode and was asleep by the middle of the fourth.

I slowly started to wake up as I felt my body shifting and a cool breeze on my skin.

"Wha?" I addressed the room in my best sleepy English.

"Hey, _chere,_ go back to sleep. I'm just putting you to bed," Sam said. I sat up a little bit and glanced around. I was in Sam's bed, my shoes, socks, and pants were gone and a pair of workout shorts were about halfway up my legs. Once Sam decided he wasn't going to get hit he continued pulling the shorts up my legs.

"Come on sweetheart, lets get you out of that shirt," he whispered softly as he pulled my shoulders until I was sitting up, slumped against him. He managed to get the shirt over my head and replace it with a baggy one of his own. "Umm, I'll just let you make any more…adjustments…you need to make to be comfortable…yeah….um…I'm going to go to sleep now. Good night," Sam mumbled and stuttered as he slowly started making his way to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, slightly confused and mostly asleep.

"I was just going to crash on the couch," Sam said with that "everything's alright, just be happy," smile. The one that reminds me of Dean.

"You will do no such thing. I'm _yawn_ not taking your bed from you. You get over here and keep me warm," I demanded. Somehow I don't think it came out quite as "demanding" as I intended for it to, but it still caused Sam's smile to grow.

"If you're sure, I'll just go get changed real quick." Sam grabbed some plaid sleep pants off of the chair by the door and left the room. He came back a few minutes later with the pants on and his clothes he'd been wearing in a ball in his hand, which he promptly deposited on the chair he took the pants from. He then gently slid into the bed next to me. There was a moment of awkward shuffling as we tried to decide what to do with ourselves. I could see the sheer terror in Sam's eyes as he tentatively moved a hand toward my hip before I could hear his thoughts. _Please God don't let her smack me, Please God don't let her kick me out, I promise I'll stop terrorizing opossums during the full moon if she doesn't kick me out, please let her not smack me…who am I kidding, please don't let her PUNCH ME! _

I laughed out loud as I heard these thoughts and decided to just go for it and hold on tight. I grabbed one of Sam's arms and laid it out on the bed for me to rest my head on, grabbed the other hand and wrapped it around my waist, then I draped one arm over him and pressed the other one between our chests before throwing a leg over his. Sam got incredibly tense for a moment, but all signs were, ahem, pointing, to his not being upset with this position, so I started to gently run my fingers through his fine curling hair at the back of his neck. Within a matter of seconds he was completely relaxed with his eyes closed and his nose buried in my neck.

"Good night, Sam."

"Good night, Sookie."

"Sam?"

"Hmm?" he was still out of it because I was still running my fingers through his hair.

"Thank you."

Silence. I watched as Sam's face slowly scrunched in thought, eyes still closed. "For what?" He finally asked.

"For being here for me tonight. I don't know what I would do without you in my life," I told him truthfully. A giant smile spread across his face.

"Think nothing of it, _chere_. I'm glad I was _yawn_ here, too."

I took a deep breath and smelled that smell that was distinctly Sam. I felt utterly safe, like nothing in the world was going to get me here. I hadn't felt that way in a long time. I looked up at Sam, his breathing had evened out, but he was still slightly awake, fading fast, but still there. I looked at his slightly parted lips and made a decision. I slowly shifted forward and put my own lips over his. I held them still for a moment, feeling for a reaction. After about 10 seconds, Sam's arms started to move so they held me tighter, his leg shifted forward so it was parting mine, and his lips started returning the pressure I was applying with my own. I hadn't stopped stroking his hair, but now I stopped, opting instead to hold it in my fist and push him a little closer. Sam responded by tilting his head and deepening the kiss even more. We started to roll over when Sam suddenly jumped off of me and stood beside the bed.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"Sookie, _chere_, look, I can't do this. I want to, I want to desperately, but, you have just hit a rough patch with Eric and I don't want you to regret coming here. And, I don't think I can handle it. I can't handle being the rebound. I love you, Sookie, I love you with everything I have, but I don't think you love me, at least not yet. I'm sorry, I'll go out to the couch," Sam rambled, turning red with embarrassment as he went.

"Sam, don't go out there," I begged, grabbing his hand. "Look, I'm sorry. You're right. I don't know that there is anything that can be salvaged for me and Eric, but I don't want to hurt you by sleeping with you if there is. Look, come back to bed, I'll behave." Sam gave me a searching look before deciding it was safe to slip back under the covers.

"Thank you, for stopping me," I whispered.

"Thank you for not flying off the handle." We smiled at each other, then gently kissed. Sam laid down on his back then and pulled me to him so I was resting on his chest.

And that is how sleep finally claimed us.

* * *

The next day I woke up to find Sam making breakfast, already groomed and ready for the day.

"What time is it?"

"9:00"

"Oh."

Sam ushered me into the shower, telling me that it would be a while before breakfast was ready. When I stepped out of the shower I found that Sam had come in and left me clean workout shorts and a t-shirt with a plaid, long-sleeved shirt to wear over it.

I hadn't gotten back to returning any of it in three weeks.

The following night I went to Fangtasia to talk to Eric about what had happened. Neither one of us was willing to budge on our opinions. After a few hours, we had to face facts: neither one of us could give up who we were to be with the other. A thousand years of one way of life is hard to change, especially for someone who is only going to be in your life for a blink of an eye in comparison, and I only have one short life to live, too short to spend with someone who isn't utterly devoted to me. And of course, politics are a bitch.

I went back to my own house that night and mourned my loss until dawn when I crawled back into bed. My dreams that night were not about blood-sucking monsters, but collies chasing coons through the woods.

In three weeks, Sam and I hadn't really had a chance to talk about what had happened. I think we were both avoiding each other on some level, giving each other the space we thought we needed on another.

I couldn't take it any longer.

We had just finished closing the bar for the night. Arlene and Tanya were heading out to their cars, laughing merrily. Sam waved goodbye to us after locking the back door and headed towards his trailer. I hesitated for a second before following him instead of going to my own car.

"Uh, Sam? Could I talk to you for a minute?"

Sam looked back at me with a large smile. "Sure thing, _chere_. Come on in," he offered, holding the door open for me. I stepped into his trailer and sat down on the couch.

"Do you want anything? I got water, Coke, beer, ummm, I think this milk is good…" The look on his face when he took the cap off to smell it said otherwise. Like any man worth his salt, Sam calmly put the lid back on the carton and stuck it back in the fridge.

"Actually just water would be great. Thank you," I said. I watched as Sam walked around the kitchen, putzing around getting water for me and a beer for himself, asking if I minded. He then rummaged through the cabinets, pulling out a bag of pretzels. He brought it all over, setting the drinks and the food down on the coffee table before sitting heavily beside me.

"Alright, what is on your mind, Sookie?" Sam asked. I took a drink of my water, downing half of it in one go. I then looked over at Sam, watching as he took a quick sip of his beer.

"Sam, I wanted to talk to you about…well, I don't know if what I want to talk about is me or us. No, I know I want to talk about us, but I don't know if you want to talk about us, so I'm willing to just talk about me and let you decide." I was rambling. Sam smiled at me.

"Say whatever you want to say, Sookie. You know I'll listen." I smiled gratefully at that.

"I know you will, Sam. That's why I'm here, having this conversation. You listen to me, you worry about me, you take care of me, you don't force yourself on me, and by golly I'm pretty sure you like me for me. I guess, I'm not too used to that."

"What do you mean?"

"All of the men in my life lately have had some sort of baggage. Something about them that just makes it so we can't be together. With Bill it was him getting orders from the Queen to seduce me, followed by him cheating on me. Alcide still had Debbie and then he was just mad at me for things that were beyond my control. Quin, wonderful Quin. Perfect in every way, except he took "mamma's boy" to the extreme. I guess I aught to throw Calvin in there as well. God knows he tried, but I'm just too selfish to get into a relationship with a man who has been literally shared by his pack. And then Eric, he's just too old, I'd guess you'd say, to really adjust to having a permanent fixture in his life."

Sam looked at me expectantly, his beer and the pretzels forgotten. He was trying to shield me, but I could still feel his emotions in his weird shifter brain. Anxious, hopeful, doubtful, scared, joy, and, most touching of all, love, were all emotions boiling within his mind as he listened to my speech.

A little more quietly, I said, "And then there's you, Sam. You've always been there for me. Always loved me. Every time I get thrown down, you're the one who picks me back up, dusts me off and throws me back in by the seat of my pants. You always find ways to help me or make me feel better. I've done a lot of thinking since that night when Eric and I ended and I realized that, what I've wanted all along, was you. I've just been too wrapped up in other things to see that. The fact you waited five years to say anything didn't help your case either." I faded off in the end, looking at Sam, waiting for him to say something. As I'd started my speech about him, I had felt the love, hope and joy flare within him to the point it was almost painful, then he managed to get his wards up. Now he was blank. I was listening as best I could, but I couldn't pick up anything. His body language didn't tell me much either, since he hadn't moved since he set his beer down. I just sat there, waiting for him to say something, wondering if I had made a mistake when he slowly started to move.

It was a subtle movement at first. His hand started to move forward, slowly so as not to scare me. Soon this hand was safely resting on my thigh, and more could move. Now he started to slowly shift his torso forward, bringing his other hand forward as well to rest on my hip. Now we were both moving as he continued to shift forward and used his grip on me to pull me forward. Now he was close enough that our position wasn't lewd, just pleasant. Sam continued to slowly move his head forward, tilting it slightly, until his lips were barely hovering above mine.

"Sookie, are you over Bill?" Sam asked, his lips brushing mine maddeningly.

"Yes," I breathed.

"Are you over Alcide?"

"Yes." My stomach was doing flip flops.

"Are you over Quin?"

"Yes." My heart started racing.

"Do I need to worry about Calvin?"

"No."

"Are you over Eric?"

I paused. I searched deep into my soul, and found no feelings for the vampire other than friendship and a little pity. Granted, the blood bond was there, but that was something beyond my control.

"Yes."

"We'll talk more tomorrow," Sam declared, then crushed my lips with his own. This kiss was hot and wild. Soon I found myself straddling his lap with my hand buried in his hair and his hands supporting my butt. We started grinding our hips together, seeking the friction we both needed so desperately. I removed my hands from his hair and started unbuttoning his shirt. Sam continued to kneed my behind, but he pulled away from the kiss long enough to say, "Yours off too." I took the hint and stopped my progress with his shirt and broke the kiss long enough to pull off my own shirt.

Sam's mouth moved to my satin-covered breast and started to suck it. I groaned loudly, then ripped off his shirt. I could feel Sam's hands fiddling with the clasp on my bra as he tried to get better access to my breasts. I giggled when he gave up with a frustrated grunt – sending very interesting vibrations through my skin – and just pulled the cups of my bra down, exposing me that way. This also trapped my arms, apparently a situation that Sam was not totally adverse to. He held my arms down to my sides as he nipped, licked, and sucked every inch of my breasts. He finally released one arm to pinch and pull the nipple that his mouth was not busy with. I took the opportunity to try to undo his pants. My hand brushed the bulge in his jeans, causing Sam to groan again, sending those wonderful vibrations through me again. I got a shock as Sam wrapped his arms around me, one under my butt and the other supporting my back, and stood up. He walked with purpose to the bedroom.

Once we made it to his room, Sam dropped me onto his bed, watching my breasts bounce with glee. I sat back on my elbows looking at him as he apparently decided what to do next. Sam, apparently decided, grabbed one of my ankles and pulled me down the bed to him then started to rip at the fly on my shorts. He quickly had my shorts, shoes, socks, and panties scattered to the winds, leaving me lying on his bed in nothing but my bra around my middle. The look he gave me could only be described as hungry, but his touch was worshipful as he slowly ran his hands from my feet, slowly up my body to tangle in my hair as he kissed me passionately.

"Sam…your pants….they need to, mmm, they need to GO!" I said, the end going up several octaves as Sam's fingers found their way inside me. I was rendered speechless for several minutes as he played me, causing me to writhe as my orgasm was ripped from me. He moved down my body then to coax a second out with his mouth. Once he was done, I laid there quivering, still feeling unsatisfied. Sam pulled himself away from me and stood up, looking down at me. I had never felt so exposed and open to anyone in my life as I did in that moment. He never took his eyes off of me as he made fast work of his belt and fly, pushing his boots off with his feet. He then pushed everything off, leaving him naked at the end of the bed.

I had seen Sam naked plenty of times in the past couple of years. None of these circumstances had been ideal for appreciating the male physique, so I intended to appreciate the hell out of it now.

His chest was defined but not rock solid. A light dusting of hair covered Sam's chest with a small trail leading down to another very respectable piece of his anatomy. His legs were toned and I found I wanted to spend some time feeling them. I wished for a moment he would turn around so I could see his butt, but I was afraid that would have to wait for a later time. Overall, he made a very enticing picture of an aroused man. All of my observations had to be done fairly quickly since he only gave me a few seconds before pouncing onto the bed. He started kissing me hungrily as he carefully fit his hips between my thighs.

"Sam…please!" I begged.

"Just a moment, _chere_, hold on," Sam whispered, sounding pretty desperate himself. I felt his fingers travel down my body again to feel my entrance to make sure I was ready. It was very sweet of him, but I was about ready to kill him if he didn't get on with it.

We both let out loud groans as he finally pushed into me. He was longer than I had given him credit for, maybe a little thicker too. He slowly pulled out of me, then just as slowly he pushed back in.

"Sam…Sam please, I need-"

"Ssshhh, I know, just, give me a second…so tight…so I don't…oh God…embarrass myself…" Sam begged as he continued his slow pace with a look of intense concentration on his face. Soon he was picking up the pace until eventually he was pounding into me for all he was worth. I could hear the headboard as it crashed into the wall with each thrust. I hitched my legs up around Sam's waist, digging my heels into his bum. This seemed to do something to him as his thrusts became more aggressive. Soon I felt my climax building to astronomical heights.

"That's it, _cher, _come for me, come for me again!" Sam started sucking harshly on my neck, causing my orgasm to come screaming through me. Sam pounded me straight through it, only stopping when my body stopped spasming. Sam pulled out and sat up on his knees.

"Turn over, come on, Sookie, turn over for me. That's it, get on your hands and knees…"

I did as he asked, getting on my hands and knees and arching my back to present myself to him. I heard a growl escape from his mouth just before he grabbed my hips and plowed into me. I screamed as Sam proceeded to ream me with one hand on my hip and the other fisted in my hair. Sam Thrust into me erratically for a few minutes before he used his grip on my hair to pull me up so my back was flush to his chest. This put him at a new angle, causing me to groan loudly.

"You like that, don't you? Oh God….You really like that." Sam mumbled. He kept grumbling in my ear, some of it I caught, most of it just game out as growls. He started sucking on my neck again and started tugging on my nipple with the hand that wasn't holding my hair. I couldn't keep my hips going fast enough for him though, so he let go of my hair and grabbed my hip with that hand, digging his teeth into my shoulder to hold my body up.

I didn't get this chewed up sleeping with vampires.

My orgasm rocked me hard, making me cry out again. Sam's hand left my breast and went back to my hair, and he forced my head down onto the bed.

"Again, again!"

And again I came. I was still riding the waves when he rolled me over and pushed back in, this time face to face.

"Sookie, oh God Sookie, I love you, I love you so much, Sookie!" Sam cried as his thrusts became erratic.

"I love you too, Sam, I love you," I breathed. Suddenly his thrusts slowed down. They were still hard enough to move the entire bed, but they had slowed to a human pace. He leaned down and kissed me passionately, slowly building the momentum back up. I was close, so close, but I didn't think I had another in me. Damn supes and their stamina…

"Come on baby, I need you to do it one more time for me, please, Sookie, just one more time!" Sam begged, holding me as close as he could. He bent down and took a nipple into his mouth and started sucking, then lowered a hand to my clit. All of the sensations came together to make me peak just one more time, dragging Sam right along with me. He came with a shout, shuddering as he emptied himself into me. We held each other as tightly as we could, whispering words of praise between desperate kisses.

When things finally settled, Sam carefully pulled out of me and lay down beside me, holding me close.

"Sookie, that was…I mean, I can't, Sookie, I…I love you Sookie. Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance," Sam fumbled, a tear escaping his eye.

"Oh Sam, thank you for waiting. I love you too."

We finished out the night with kisses and mumbled words of love and praise. We made love one more time before we both drifted off to sleep, much more slowly and reverently than before.

The next morning we both woke up in a playful mood. We climbed into the shower together and "helped" bathe each other. Then Sam made breakfast again. Pancakes and eggs and sausage. It was amazing. I asked Sam if that was what he usually had and he blushed in response. He admitted that usually he ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast, but he wasn't going to offer that because the milk was bad. I had a feeling there was more to it than that, and after a little pressure he admitted that if the milk was bad and he didn't feel like getting milk from the bar he _had_ been known to use beer instead. I laughed so hard orange juice threatened to come out of my nose. Sam came around the table and tickled me for laughing at him, which only made the situation worse. Once he felt his pride had been avenged he sat down, pulling me into his lap, and began feeding me.

Once we ate and managed to get dressed (and STAY dressed), we headed for the bar. Arlene, Holly, the cooks and Terry's cars were in the back, all parked around mine. We went in the employee entrance and Sam headed straight for his office. I had left my purse in his trailer, so it wasn't necessary for me to go in there. As I passed however, I could hear his laughter flowing out, followed by him calling me in. I walked into the office and burst out laughing myself.

The staff (and presumably a few customers) had filled the office with condom balloons and sex toys, a true feat for something that they could have only had a couple of hours at most to pull together. The thing that got me the most was the banner.

"FINALLY!!!!!"

We held each other close, looking at the banner and basking in each other's presence. I suddenly remembered something from weeks before.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you really stop tormenting opossums now?"

A/NA/NA/NA/NA/NA/NA/N

OK, edited, slightly better, and there may (eventually) be a chapter 2!!

Before you hit the button, make sure you hit the review button and let me know what you think of my efforts! It really does matter to me!


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